Let me start this blog by apologising for being MIA for the past few months. There's no excuse. I didn't feel like writing anything and didn't want to post anything half-heartedly.
Coming to today's topic.
Women's day. A day to celebrate womanhood. A day to recognise and appreciate anyone who recognises themselves as a woman.
Now this may sound weird, but I honestly don't understand the hype. I mean, not to be a hypocrite, when my guy friends wished me today, it made me immensely happy and important. But when I further think about the concept, I feel Women's day is like any other day. It is celebrated for 24 hours and then we return to the same world.
A world where sexual assault and gender inequality is so common that there's a new case everyday. It breaks my heart and I get chills down my spine imagining the pain those girls have gone through.
We live in a society where girls are told to ignore the harassers instead of speaking up. Where "short clothes" are the reason for rape. We are told that outside spaces are unsafe. That going out late at night is a risk. That you cannot stroll down at 2 A.M at night without fearing for your life. As much as you choose to, or not choose to believe in these, society conditions you to these factors. It becomes so normalised that you don't think about why it is a problem. A social media post posing the hypothetical question of what readers would do if the world had no men for 24 hours had recently gone viral.
The top response of most of the women who responded?
Being able to walk around freely at night.
I had the exact same answer. And I bet many girls would too. Too many brown girls grow up being told they needed to learn how to cook/clean/be modest/ be quiet because " what will your future mother in law say? That I didn't teach you anything?" - our identities were moulded to become an asset to another family. Sadly the World Economic Forum predicts that we will not reach gender equality for another 100 years. This is a statistic of the opression and disparity she faces everyday. When will she be believed in?
Women don't need appreciation. They need equality. They need equal pay, safety, no judgement, splitting bills, going out whenever they want, wearing whatever they like, putting their career before family and all other privileges men have enjoyed over the years.
Hence, this Women's Day instead of being dominated, let's be fearless. Let's raise our voice. Let's be indecent and speak our minds. Let's point out pseudo-feminism and focus on being equal to men and not above them. Let's take charge and show the society that we are capable to sustain our families. Let's break the stereotype that only men of the house can earn. Let's be independent. Not today but everyday, we must empower and support each other.
Alas a women should be 2 things: who and what she wants!